The Darker Meaning of Dreams
by ShyrenSong
Summary: Butters begins to have nightmares of Kenny dying, but he starts to have reason to believe that they aren't JUST dreams.


Night. Shadows seemed to shift in the inky black atop Tom's Rhinoplasty, giving way to a small form. The cloaked child had a deeply serious look etched into his brow. His friends still played heroes and villains off and on, but it was but a game to them. For young Mysterion, it was different. He could make a real difference and, ultimately, had no consequences to face for fuckups.

His brooding was cut short when movement in the alleyway caught his eye. His target. Far too many people had been terrorized, robbed and some were even harmed. The door to the building opened, a familiar and pleasant voice drifting up.

"Have a good night Tom, I'll see you Monday!" Mrs. Marsh, Stan's mom, walked out the door, prompting the black-clad villain to start moving as well.

"Shit!" Mysterion cursed under his breath, immediately leaping from the roof, leading with a steel-tipped shoe. Metal collided with a skull, but sadly not hard enough to knock the figure out. Retaliation was swift and brutal. The low glow of a streetlight glinted off a blade a split second before it stabbed into the child's throat. A scream was the last thing he heard as he faded away yet again. He had lost count at this point, it had happened so often.

Kenny McCormick hadn't died in vain. He was gone too fast to see, but the sight of a child's death catapulted Sharon into action. She grabbed the nearest object, a scrap of wood, and swung it over and over at her would-be assailant. She was a mother and she would NOT let violence against a child go unpunished. A crack rang through the night, the plank finally splintering over the man's head. With her assailant incapacitated, Sharon was free to flee, bolting from the alley, whipping out her cell phone to call the police breathlessly on her way home.

A quick flash ripped a hole in the blanket of darkness; a glint of moonlight shining from the metallic headwear of a small figure fleeing across the rooftops.

"AAAHHH! O-oh HAMburgers!" Butters Stotch bolted awake in a cold sweat, knocking his knuckles together in his familiar anxious tic.

"Well that was a DOOZY of a nightmare." He muttered to himself, trying to laugh off his discomfort.

"Hwhoo!" He breathed out, taking a moment to compose himself before swinging his tiny legs off of his bed and onto the floor. Padding over to the closet to grab his clothes for the day, he paused. The closet was already open, a pile of green fabric and tinfoil unceremoniously thrown into it.

"W-well golly! I musta knocked that down." He muttered to himself, chuckling anxiously. He hadn't been playing villains last night... had he? He couldn't have…

The boy quickly grabbed the outfit, hanging it carefully back in its place. He grabbed his school clothes, quickly closing the closet behing him and forgetting the oddity. The rest of his morning routine would go smoothly, thankfully and by breakfast, he would have forgotten the whole thing.

With a cheerful smile and farewell to his folks, the little blonde grabbed his backpack scurrying out the door to the bus stop. The bus had already arrived and he ran up the steps, settling into a seat and setting his backpack beside him.

"--Yea it was crazy, dude! I heard my parents talking about it this morning. Some guy just fuckin attacked my mom when she left work!"

"What?! That's insane! Is she okay, dude?"

"Yea she like... hit him over the head with something and called the cops I guess. Some kid jumped off the roof and distracted him or something."

"Dude that's nuts! I'm glad she's okay!"

Butters' face had gone pale when he overheard the conversation. What??? That had been a dream! It HAD to be! He swallowed hard, knocking his knuckles together then climbed up on his seat, turning to peer into the back of the bus. Kenny. Was Kenny here?

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Kyle asked, raising a brow. "You look sick are you okay?"

He wouldn't speak at first. When he spotted the familiar orange parka however, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed. He'd stare for a moment, eyes slowly narrowing.

"Dude. Butters." Stan chimed in, snapping in the blonde's face.

"You're being super weird right now."

Butters shook his head putting on his usual goofy smile and finally looking at the two.

"Aw gee, fellas. Y'don't hafta worry about me. Well I'm just fine!" He replied, chipper as ever.

"Sit the fuck down then, ya donkey boner! You're creepin us out!" Shot Cartman, glaring at one of his favorite emotional punching bags.

"Jesus Christ, can you believe that guy?" He muttered, turning to Kenny.

Butters slowly sat back down, knuckles gently knocking together. This was confusing to say the least. He thought it had been a nightmare, yet here Stan was talking about the exact events he'd witnessed. But Kenny. In his nightmare Kenny had died; yet here he was alive and well, joking with Cartman as always. At least… he thought it was Kenny…

Was there some other kid out there using the Mysterion name? He would have to do some digging… or rather, the Professor would. The boy would have to bide his time, but that was alright with him. He was used to such things. For now, the child would sit, stewing in his own thoughts and theories, just trying to make it through the school day.


End file.
